Delegates and guests of KON-MED (Confederation of Kurdistan Communities in Germany) convened in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany for the 4th Interim Meeting.

KON-MED components, KCDK-E ((Congress of European Kurdistan Democratic Societies) co-chairs Engin Sever, Zübeyde Zümrüt and Kurdish politicians living in exile are attending the meeting.

The Midterm Meeting, dedicated to the freedom of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan and those who were martyred in the struggle for freedom, started with a moment of silence.

KON-MED Co-Chairs Kerem Gök and Ruken Akça greeted the participants. Ruken Akça made a short speech and said, "We are going through a very important process. Every year it is heavier than the previous one. We wanted to evaluate a year together with our friends and colleagues. There is a heavy isolation on Leader Öcalan. This isolation affects the whole of Kurdistan. As you know, Kurdistan has been on fire for the last three days. This is enmity. It is treachery. All kinds of ways and methods are being tried to defeat the Kurds.  In the centuries-old war against the Kurdish people, nature is also being destroyed."

Kerem Gök drew attention to the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and said, "We salute Leader Öcalan who is resisting and struggling in a dungeon with a national consciousness and a national spirit. On the other hand, the resistance in prisons has been going on for 207 days. We reiterate our promise that we will embrace the struggle of those who do not kneel against enemy attacks. We salute the people of Rojava who resist against all attacks. We salute Shengal and Maxmur. We salute the ‘Jin Jiyan Azadi’ resistance spreading from Rojhilat to all over the world.”

After the speeches of the KON-MED Co-Chairs, the council was elected. KCDK-E Co-Chair Engin Sever, who was elected to the council, made the following speech on behalf of the council:

"We are in the 25th year of isolation, and the 100th year of the Treaty of Lausanne amidst ongoing attacks.  Against this, historical resistance is being developed in the person of Leader Öcalan, to whom we dedicate this meeting. 26 years ago, an international conspiracy against the Kurds developed in his person. When the leaders of the previous revolts were subjected to conspiracy, the revolts fizzled out. The conspiracy against Leader Öcalan was conducted with this intent."

Zübeyde Zümrüt, Co-President of KCDK-E, said: "We are in the month of June. If we, as Kurdish women, have rights today, we owe this to women like Zilan, Sara and Beritan who have struggled to bring us to this day."

Zümrüt continued:  "Of course, a policy of extermination is being implemented today against the Kurdish people under the AKP-MHP rule.  They want to succeed in the politics of genocide. Only the Kurds are struggling against this fascism. Today, the issue is not only about Kurds, but it concerns the whole of Turkey, the Middle East and the world. There is chaos and crisis. This chaos and crisis affect everyone. The mountains of Kurdistan are being burnt. For 50 years, mountains have been burnt, forests and animals have been burnt. But they used every means to evacuate Kurdistan. Today DEDAŞ (Dicle Electricity Distribution Inc.) exists in Kurdistan with the armed forces of the state. It is not right to think that it is a fire caused by two cables of DEDAŞ. DEDAŞ is the representative of the state there. The state’s helicopters do not take off to extinguish forest fires, but to kill the children of the Kurdish people.”

Referring to the conditions of isolation imposed on Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, Zübeyde Zümrüt said, "We are not helpless. We are the power, we are the will. We say that we will free Leader Öcalan and he will embrace his people on the walls of Amed."

Agilan Varatharajah, on behalf of the Tamil Freedom Movement, who attended the meeting as a guest, stated that he was there as a result of the joint work of Kurdish and Tamil organisations and said: "In 2009, a genocide was committed against our people. Today there is a genocide in Kurdistan and Palestine. We are here to prevent these."

Erol Polat, on behalf of the KNK (Kurdistan National Congress), spoke about the political situation in Kurdistan and emphasised that although millions of Kurds live in Germany, they have failed to turn this into a force.”

The meeting continues with the reading of the annual activities report and evaluations.